This application relates to the attachment of a binding to extensible material, and specifically to a method and apparatus which assists an operator of a fastening machine, such as a sewing machine, in preparing the materials for joining, and which conserves operator time and allows concentration of operator attention on the task of properly fitting an edge of the extensible material into the binding, after which the two are clamped and then secured.
Although it will be apparent that the invention is applicable to many different forms of material, and that some features of the invention are per se novel, the specific application for which the invention was made concerns the securing of an edge of a piece of flexible netting, made of extensible cord, to a woven webbing which serves as the binding. There is a demand for such bounded flexible netting, at present, for a variety of uses, one of which is as a hold down device in automobiles and trucks. The webbing is somewhat stiff, usually in the order of two to three inches in width, and of any desired length. The netting is available in a variety of widths, and due to the nature of the open netting and extensibility (stretch) of the cord from which the netting is constructed, it is considerably adjustable in width before securing to the webbing.
At present, to perform this task, an operator must fold the webbing along its length, roughly in half, insert an edge of the netting into the fold and proportion the netting along the binding webbing, hold all of this together, and feed the assembled parts through a sewing machine or the like to secure the netting into the webbing. Obviously, the longer the parts to be joined, the more difficult is this task, and the more likely that there will be lack of uniformity in successively made joined parts. The same difficulties could result, for example, in attempting to join a more stable piece of cloth to a quite flexible and extensible binding. In any event, there is a need to stabilize the parts, allow the operator to fit them together, adjust the relative positions of the parts as needed, clamp them in the final position, and then sew or otherwise secure the parts together. This need applies to a variety of situations in joining such pieces, and to parts of varying length, but the need is more severe as the parts are longer.